A Retrospective: 1954-1977 |
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30 #1 Hits was a chart-topping, multi-platinum compilation which confirmed Elvis’ appeal a quarter century after his passing. Of course, it wasn’t the first time his work had been anthologized. This page highlights just a few of the greatest-hits packages which offer an overview of Elvis’ career.
Compilations:
* Songs added to reissue. This page focuses on the compilations above, covering Elvis Presley’s entire career from 1954 to 1977. For a more indepth look at his work in the ‘50s, check out the Elvis Presley Retrospective: 1953-1959 page for a full career overview. There are also links to other Elvis’ pages at the bottom of this page. Songs featured on any of these compilations are noted with the codes above. Appearing after song titles are the songwriters in italicized parentheses, running times in brackets, and when relevant, the date the song was released as a single and its peaks on various charts. Click for codes to singles charts. |
Golden RecordsElvis Presley |
| Released: March 21, 1958 Recorded: 1956-1958 Peak: 3 US, 2 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.06 UK, 10.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: early rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) Hound Dog (2) Loving You (3) All Shook Up (4) Heartbreak Hotel (5) Jailhouse Rock (6) Love Me (7) Too Much (8) Don’t Be Cruel (9) That’s When Your Heartache Begins (10) Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (11) Love Me Tender (12) Treat Me Nice (13) Anyway You Want Me That’s How I Will Be (14) I Want You, I Need You, I Love You Total Running Time: 32:03 |
Rating:  4.862 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Golden Records: “This was rock & roll’s first greatest-hits album, and it set the standard for all others to follow. As originally conceived, it was a 14-song collection of most of the King’s biggest hits up to that time, released on the eve of his start of military service – a dearth of material being in the offing, it seemed only logical to assemble these hits. Each of the 14 songs had earned a gold-record award for a million sales, a record unequaled at that time by anyone else in rock & roll. The album wasn’t intended as a history lesson, so Hound Dog and Loving You precede Heartbreak Hotel – the 1997 remastering also tampers with the concept a bit, adding six bonus tracks.” BE “Elvis’ singing never sounded richer or more expressive, and one can fully appreciate in vivid detail the delicate nuances of his phrasing on songs like Too Much. On the downside, the remastering has made the sound so clean on some of the harder songs that some of the raw, ‘dirty’ ambience that characterized this stuff on the radio and the original 45s is lacking. Still, Scotty Moore’s groundbreaking lead guitar part on ‘Hound Dog’ and the Jordanaires’ backup singing never came through more sharply or cleanly, and the all-important rhythm section is almost up front in the mix.” BE “Those who own the first Elvis box from RCA, covering the ‘50s masters, may hesitate to pick up this or the other parts of this latest remastered series, but the sound has been upgraded one more level, and Golden Hits does give a bite-sized glimpse of where Elvis had come from and where he was going (for better or worse) musically on the eve of heading into the Army.” BE 1954-1957 Tracks:
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Golden Records Vol. 2: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be WrongElvis Presley |
| Released: November 13, 1959 Recorded: 1957-1959 Peak: 31 US, 4 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: early rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) I Need Your Love Tonight (2) Don’t (3) Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (4) My Wish Came True (5) I Got Stung (6) One Night (7) A Big Hunk O’ Love (8) I Beg of You (9) Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I (10) Doncha’ Think It’s Time Total Running Time: 22:00 |
Rating:  4.159 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)
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About Golden Records 2: The initial release of Elvis’ second greatest-hits collection, Gold Records, Volume 2 (also known as 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong), featured singles released in 1958 and 1959, dating back to recording sessions from 1957. A reissue of the album added bonus tracks dating back to 1956. Among the songs were the #1 hits Don’t, Hard Headed Woman, and Big Hunk O’ Love and the top ten hits I Beg of You, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, I Got Stung, One Night, I Need Your Love Tonight and Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I. 1957-1959 Tracks:
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Golden Records Vol. 3Elvis Presley |
| Released: August 11, 1963 Recorded: 1960-1962 Peak: 3 US, 6 UK, 79 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: early rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) It’s Now or Never (2) Stuck on You (3) Fame and Fortune (4) I Gotta Know (5) Surrender (6) I Feel So Bad (7) Are You Lonesome Tonight? (8) Marie’s the Name His Latest Flame (9) Little Sister (10) Good Luck Charm (11) Anything That’s Part of You (12) She’s Not You Total Running Time: 29:42 |
Rating:  4.474 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)
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About Golden Records 3: Elvis’ third Golden Records collection compiled singles from 1960 to 1962 – eight A-sides and four B-sides. Five of the singles went to #1: Stuck on You, It’s Now or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Surrender, and Good Luck Charm. WK3 “It’s Now or Never” was adapted from “the 1898 Neapolitan song ‘O Sole Mio,’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight,’ a ballad from 1926, had been a rare request from [Elvis’ manager, Tom] Parker to Presley for Parker’s wife.” WK 1960-1962 Tracks:
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Golden Records Vol. 4Elvis Presley |
| Released: January 2, 1968 Recorded: 1960-1967 Peak: 33 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: early rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) Love Letters (2) Witchcraft (3) It Hurts Me (4) What’d I Say (5) Please Don’t Drag That String Around (6) Indescribably Blue (7) You’re the Devil in Disguise (8) Lonely Man (9) A Mess of Blues (10) Ask Me (11) Ain’t That Loving You Baby (12) Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello Total Running Time: 29:03 |
Rating: 4.043 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)
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About Golden Records 4: The fourth album in the Golden Records series came five years after its predecessor. Sales has cooled for Elvis and his singles were no longer automatic top 40 hits. Ten of the twelve cuts on this collection did go top 40, but only one song (You’re the Devil in Disguise) reached the top ten. Three of the B-sides (Lonely Man, A Mess of Blues, Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello) were old enough that they could have been on the previous Golden Records album and Ain’t That Loving You Baby, another B-side, was recorded back in 1958. WK4 1962-1967 Tracks:
Notes: The 1997 reissued added “Return to Sender,” “Rock-A-Hula Baby,” “Bossa Nova Baby,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and “Crying in the Chapel.” |
Golden Records Vol. 5Elvis Presley |
| Released: March 1984 Recorded: 1968-1977 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) Suspicious Minds (2) Kentucky Rain (3) In the Ghetto (4) Clean Up Your Own Backyard (5) If I Can Dream (6) Burning Love (7) If You Talk in Your Sleep (8) For the Heart (9) Moody Blue (10) Way Down Total Running Time: 30:08 |
Rating: 3.754 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)
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About Golden Records 5: The fifth and final entry in the Golden Records series came in 1984, seven years after Elvis’ death. The collection, which tapped material from the last decade of his career, included nine top 40 hits and a B-side. “The first half of the album focused on Elvis’ late 1960s comeback-era recordings: If I Can Dream was taken from his comeback special, three singles from the American studios sessions Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain, and In the Ghetto.” WK5 Clean Up Your Own Backyard was a soundtrack recording from The Trouble with Girls. “The second half of the records focused on Elvis’ late period singles including Burning Love and Moody Blue. RCA did not base the selection solely on commercial factors, as they omitted two top ten hit singles from this time period, ‘Don't Cry Daddy’ from 1969 and ‘The Wonder of You’ from 1970. 1967-1977 Tracks:
Notes: The 1997 CD reissue added “Big Boss Man,” “Guitar Man,” U.S. Male,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” “Edge of Reality,” and “Memories.” |
The Top Ten HitsElvis Presley |
| Released: August 1987 Recorded: 1956-1972 Peak: 117 US, 4 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.1 UK, 4.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock and roll |
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Disc 1: (1) Heartbreak Hotel (2) I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (3) Hound Dog (4) Don’t Be Cruel (5) Love Me Tender (6) Love Me (7) Too Much (8) All Shook Up (9) Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (10) Jailhouse Rock (11) Don’t (12) I Beg of You (13) Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (14) Hard Headed Woman (15) One Night (16) I Got Stung (17) Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I (18) I Need Your Love Tonight (19) A Big Hunk O’ Love Disc 2: (1) Stuck on You (2) It’s Now Or Never (3) Are You Lonesome Tonight? (4) Surrender (5) I Feel So Bad (6) Little Sister (7) Marie’s the Name His Latest Flame (8) Can’t Help Falling in Love with You (9) Good Luck Charm (10 She’s Not You (11) Return to Sender (12) You’re the Devil in Disguise (13) Bossa Nova Baby (14) Crying in the Chapel (15) In the Ghetto (16) Suspicious Minds (17) Don’t Cry Daddy (18) The Wonder of You (19) Burning Love |
Rating: 4.550 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)
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About The Top Ten Hits: All 38 of Elvis’ top ten hits from his career are gathered here on this two-disc collection. This retrospective walks the listener through from 1956’s Heartbreak Hotel to 1972’s Burning Love. These songs “are absolutely first-rate – there’s no arguing with I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Don’t Be Cruel, Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, …All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock, …Can’t Help Falling in Love, …Return to Sender, Suspicious Minds, and many, many others. It’s the perfect way to start an Elvis collection and, for many casual fans, the only set to own.” ET Even so, “there’s a huge amount of terrific material that isn't included on the compilation. There’s none of his Sun recordings, none of his gritty blues, none of his gospel, precious little of his country recordings, and many great singles for RCA aren’t included.” ET |
Artist of the CenturyElvis Presley |
| Released: July 13, 1999 Recorded: 1954-1977 Peak: 163 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock and roll |
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Disc 1: 1. That’s All Right 2. Good Rockin’ Tonight 3. Baby Let’s Play House 4. Mystery Train 5. Trying to Get to You 6. Heartbreak Hotel 7. Blue Suede Shoes 8. My Baby Left Me 9. Lawdy Miss Clawdy 10. Hound Dog 11. Any Way You Want Me That's How I Will Be 12. Don’t Be Cruel 13. Love Me Tender 14. Love Me 15. Anyplace Is Paradise 16. All Shook Up 17.Got a Lot O’ Livin’ to Do 18. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear 19. One Night 20. Jailhouse Rock 21. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care 22. Treat Me Nice 23. Don’t 24. Santa Claus Is Back in Town 25. Trouble 26. Hard Headed Woman 27. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck 28. A Big Hunk O’ Love 29. (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such As I Disc 2: 1. Stuck on You 2. It’s Now Or Never 3. Are You Lonesome Tonight? 4. A Mess of Blues 5. Like a Baby 6. The Girl of My Best Friend 7. Such a Night 8. Reconsider Baby 9. Surrender 10. Can’t Help Falling in Love 11. That’s Someone You Never Forget 12. Little Sister 13. (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame 14. Anything That’s Part of You 15. Good Luck Charm 16. She’s Not You 17. Return to Sender 18. (You’re the Devil in Disguise 19. Memphis, Tennessee 20. It Hurts Me 21. Down in the Alley 22. Run On 23. Tomorrow Is a Long Time 24. Big Boss Man 25. Guitar Man 26. Tiger Man Disc 3: 1. If I Can Dream 2. In the Ghetto 3. Suspicious Minds 4. Don’t Cry Daddy 5. I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) 6. Stranger in My Own Home Town 7. After Loving You 8. Only the Strong Survive 9. The Wonder of You 10. Polk Salad Annie 11. I’ve Lost You 12. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me 13. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ 14. Merry Christmas, Baby 15. I’m Leavin’ 16. An American Trilogy 17. Burning Love 18. Always on My Mind 19. Promised Land 20. For the Heart |
Rating: 4.501 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Artist of the Century: This is a complete career overview from 1954 to 1977. Not a bad way to go if you want to dig deeper than a single disc anthology, but don’t plan to start delving into individual albums. |
30 #1 HitsElvis Presley |
| Released: September 24, 2002 Recorded: 1956-1977 Peak: 13 US, 13 CW, 12 UK, 15 CN, 14 AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 1.86 UK, 12.88 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) Heartbreak Hotel (2) Don’t Be Cruel (3) Hound Dog (4) Love Me Tender (5) Too Much (6) All Shook Up (7) Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (8) Jailhouse Rock (9) Don’t (10) Hard Headed Woman (11) One Night (12) Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I (13) A Big Hunk O’ Love (14) Stuck on You (15) It’s Now Or Never (16) Are You Lonesome Tonight? (17) Wooden Heart (18) Surrender (19) Marie’s the Name His Latest Flame (20) Can’t Help Falling in Love (21) Good Luck Charm (22) She’s Not You (23) Return to Sender (24) You’re the Devil in Disguise (25) Crying in the Chapel (26) In the Ghetto (27) Suspicious Minds (28) The Wonder of You (29) Burning Love (30 Way Down (31) A Little Less Conversation (JXL remix) Total Running Time: 79:34 |
Rating: 4.739 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About 30 #1 Hits: “RCA and the Elvis estate made no bones about their intention on replicating the blockbuster success of the Beatles’ The Beatles 1 with their own single-disc collection of number one hits — hence, the 2002 release of Elvis: 30 #1 Hits. The idea of collecting all the number one hits is simple enough, but there are problems inherent with the concept, not the least of which is that RCA did this once before. Unlike the Beatles, who went through numerous changes in just seven years of recording, Elvis had nearly three times as many years’ worth of material and hits to choose from. Also, he hit on a number of different charts – not just pop, but also R&B, country, and adult contemporary. Furthermore, where almost all of the Beatles’ number one hits sampled at least part of their music, there are significant chunks of Elvis' best material – including the visionary sides for Sun – that didn’t hit the top of the charts.” E30 “All of this makes assembling a similar comprehensive sampler of Elvis’ biggest hits much more difficult, and it doesn’t help that RCA has decided not to have a rigid aesthetic and sample from different charts all over the world, resulting in a collection that feels more of a patchwork than it should, even if the bulk of the material is from the early ‘60s; at least five songs feel like they should have been replaced with better, and better-known, sides.” E30 “It's no great surprise that the second half of this chronologically ordered collection sags in direct proportion to the Big E’s waistline. Still, given that most of his RCA albums had valleys of filler that would shame anyone but Colonel Parker, this is the best way to hear Elvis the Superstar. Hound Dog, All Shook Up, Are You Lonesome Tonight and the ever zany Suspicious Minds still sound fresh and immediate – impressive given how many times most the world has heard them – and show off the diversity of Elvis’ singing, from the purity of his gospel falsetto to his rock and roll purr.” TL “Even if much of this material is exceedingly familiar, there also feels like there is a lot missing because, frankly, there is. No Sun singles and very little from his classic 1968 comeback or early-‘70s hits like ‘Moody Blue,’ not to mention sides that would showcase Elvis ‘the rocker’ better than what’s here, which plays closer to Elvis the ‘60s pop crooner than anything else. And, let’s face it, no matter what the packaging is, Elvis: 30 #1 Hits can’t feel that new because of the veritable flood of Elvis collections RCA has issued since the King started having hits. This is a very good compilation, covering many of the basics, but it’s hardly close to the only Elvis disc you’ll ever need, and it's not even that great of a starting place, since it lacks so much of his best material.” E30 “Also, even though this is one of the most carefully considered compilations of Elvis hits, it can’t help but feel a little shoddy since there’s actually 31 number one hits here, with the addition of the JXL remix of A Little Less Conversation tacked onto the end, no matter how good the single is.” E30 Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:
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2nd to NoneElvis Presley |
| Released: October 7, 2003 Recorded: 1954-1976 Peak: 3 US, 4 UK, 3 CN, 4 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK, 1.26 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock and roll |
Tracks: (1) That’s All Right (2) I Forgot to Remember to Forget (3) Blue Suede Shoes (4) I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (5) Love Me (6) Mean Woman Blues (7) Loving You (8) Treat Me Nice (9) Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (10) King Creole (11) Trouble (12) I Got Stung (13) I Need Your Love Tonight (14) A Mess of Blues (15) I Feel So Bad (16) Little Sister (17) Rock-A-Hula Baby (18) Bossa Nova Baby (19) Viva Las Vegas (20 If I Can Dream (21) Memories (22) Don’t Cry Daddy (23) Kentucky Rain (24) You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (25) An American Trilogy (26) Always on My Mind (27) Promised Land (28) Moody Blue (29) I’m a Roustabout (30) Rubberneckin’ (remix) Total Running Time: 78:39 |
Rating: 4.262 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)
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About 2nd to None: They say all good things come to an end; apparently no one notified the compilers of Elvis collections – they just keep coming and coming. This album was considered the “follow-up” to the hugely successful single-disc greatest hits 30 #1 Hits released the year before. This collection is obviously not as strong as that one and isn’t really the next place to go if you were introduced to Elvis by the 30 #1 Hits package. You’d be better off turning to his ‘50s material like The Sun Collection or Elvis’ official debut album, simply called Elvis Presley. If you really are hooked, go straight to the box set The King of Rock and Roll: The Complete ‘50s Masters. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:
Resources and Related Links:
First posted 4/2/2008; last updated 8/8/21.
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